2 Filipinos in Japan may be COVID-19 positive, says PH Embassy

MANILA, Philippines— Two Filipinos in Japan may have contracted the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Philippine Ambassador to Japan Jose Laurel V said Wednesday.

“There are only two Filipinos who are suspected of coronavirus in the entire Filipino community of roughly 325,000. So it’s not really that alarming,” Laurel said in a televised briefing.

Laurel said the Japanese culture of bowing instead of handshaking and kissing, greatly helped in limiting the spread of the virus there.

“Hindi humahalik at kumakamay, yumuyuko kapag bumabati. Pag may sipon o ubo, naglalagay ng mask kahit hindi coronavirus. The transmission is very limited,” he said.

(They don’t kiss or shake hands, but bow when they greet. If they have colds or cough, they wear a mask even when there was no coronavirus outbreak. The transmission is very limited.)

There are so far at least 2,000 cases of COVID-19 and at least 59 fatalities in Japan.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a pandemic as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise in many regions, which has reached over 800,000 worldwide.

The pandemic also resulted in the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics from July this year to July 2021.

GSG